The increased use of synthetic plastic materials in packaging applications is simultaneously imposing increased environmental and ecological hazards owing to the nonbiodegradability of such plastics. Accordingly, there is a great need for a plastic packaging material which is water-insoluble and has low oxygen permeability in order to provide storage stability to the packaged contents, yet which is biodegradable upon disposal. At least one partially biodegradable copolymer has been disclosed as comprising a mixture of starch and polyethylene. After disposal, the starch degrades and initiates the breakdown of polyethylene into disposable fragments. However, a significant disadvantage of this type of copolymer resides in its long degradation time which is reported to be from several months to several years or more and the non-biodegradability of the PE fragments. Accordingly, a need still exists for the discovery of additional, totally biodegradable plastic materials.